Demand Management - A Primer for Transportation Planners and Engineers

About half of commuters in Seattle’s I-5/SR-99 corridor bike, walk, carpool, vanpool or use transit. If they didn't, it would mean gridlock for everyone.

Demand management is an effective strategy for improving transportation efficiency from the project level to the statewide system. It's a community-based approach that relies on collaboration, commuter information and incentives to influence travel patterns and commuter choices.

It's also an effective strategy for planners and engineers to make transportation projects more sustainable and economical.

Effectively used, the tools and techniques of demand management, such as commute trip reduction, telework, vanpool programs and ridematching, ease the burden on existing systems and allow busy corridors to perform as well as they were designed to perform.

By engaging project-area stakeholders, employers and jurisdictions in a collaborative effort to find transportation solutions, projects earn the support of communities. Managing demand also reduces the need to add more lane space, freeing up scarce construction dollars for other transportation improvements.

New tool INVEST-igates demand, sustainability

The results are in from a study assessing sustainability in corridor planning and project development, using an innovative online tool. WSDOT collaborated with the Federal Highway Administration to evaluate a new assessment tool called INVEST – Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool. It provided insight to better integrate demand management and public health strategies into planning and project development.

FHWA developed the tool to help transportation agencies evaluate and improve the sustainability of their planning, project development, and operations and maintenance programs and processes.